What Could Have Been
by Annarchy21
Summary: The day of her 11th birthday, Lucy tries giving her father a rice ball as a gift, only to have it thrown back at her with cruel words spat in her face as well. What if that day, Lucky Lucy Hearfilia... ran away? Follow in her adventures as well as the rest of the guild as they forge their path. I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.
1. A Fairy is Born

**Okay. So you're probably gonna think I'm out of my damn mind. _But_. Hear me out. This is just a little experiment, and if you don't like it, please let me know through PM's and reviews. However, I've had this lovely little idea turning in my head for a while. I've read a few like this but honestly I've found most to be choppy and too eager to get to the ending (no offense, I just really really love long, slow character development and natural feeling timelines). Also, I haven't decided on what pairing I want. I just know that I want NaLi, Jerza, Gruvia, and Mireed. I naturally lean towards LaLu, but I'm a sucker for odd ships, so it might end up a GaLu. Who knows. Also, please note that this is not a super powered Lucy story, this is simply an alternate universe (where details may be slightly altered to fit better, ie guild mark color/placement or the way someone dresses) and that this story will come second to Stronger Than You Think (as I'll be juggling the two and I sure as hell refuse to give up on my baby). Anywhoooo, as always, please enjoy and tell me anything I need to improve on! **

_But what if- what if young Lucky Lucy Heartfilia had run away that day? We all know the day; the one a year after her mother's passing, when she was turning 11; this birthday of hers she decided to give her father a gift, knowing she, herself, would not receive a gift on this day other than (hopefully) the gentle smile on her fathers face she so dearly missed seeing. Only to have her gift thrown so violently back in her face with scolding words to follow. What if, on this day, sweet, sad, Lucky Lucy Heartfilia... had run away? Taken her keys, and a small pink backpack with her little sister tucked away right next to her favorite white dress, other than the pink one she was wearing. This will be that Tale. The story of how little Lucy grew up next to those friends she so held dear. A story of how the Light of Fairy Tail became what she was today._

 _Year x778_

Lucy POV

I had finally gotten off the train that took me to Hargeon. All I wanted was to get away from my Papa. Ever since Mama had left, Papa had been cold and distant, and pushed me away. It hurt so bad, it felt as if I had lost them both. I looked up to the big clock in the train station. It was only 11 o'clock in the morning, but I had no clue how to go forward. Mama had always talked about guilds. She said that she had loved hers before she had left to build the business with Papa.

Maybe that's what I'll do.

"Yeah!" I shouted out to the general area, pumping one of my fists into the air, feeling determined and receiving little attention from the older passers by.

I trotted over to the train ticket counter, and stood up on my tippy toes to try and get the train mans attention, "Excuse me, sir! I am so sorry to disturb you, but could you help me?" I asked as politely as I could. Just like how Mama taught me.

The man, seemingly in his early 30's, bent over as best he could to get a clear view of me and I saw his confusion for a moment before he smiled gently at me, "Well hello, little lady. How can I be of service?" I smiled big and wide at him, glad that what Mama had taught me was working.

"I was wondering if you knew of any guilds nearby, sir." I said as politely as possible, feeling almost sheepish at how little I knew of the world outside of home. Seemingly despite this, the man chuckled and looked down at me with genuine kindness in his eyes.

"Well I suppose that depends. You have the merchant guild called Love and Lucky in Acolypha, or you have the wizard guild Fairy Tail in Magnolia—" I cut him off with a quick yell of " _that one!"_ and then a shy apology at my outburst, to which he chuckled again and told me the amount of the train ticket. I had enough, I realized, but only just. Handing the rest of the money to the train man I took my ticket from him. I was a wizard and I was determined to live by my magic. I had my keys secured around my waist. I was, after all, a celestial mage, just like Mama.

Deciding to sit on a bench to wait out the next hour until the train would board, I decided to fiddle with my keys a bit, until settling on pulling out my little sister, Michelle, from my backpack and making sure that she was still safe and sound. I talked to her quietly, confiding all my excitement and hope to her. It was as I was talking to Michelle that I slowly took notice of a blue haired girl my age watching me with curiosity shining in her brown eyes so similar to my own. I flashed a big smile and waved at her, stuck between wanting her to come over, so I could make my very first friend on my own, and being too nervous to talk if she did.

The next thing I knew, the small Bluenette had pulled herself up on my bench to sit next to me. I looked to the clock, noticing only 20 minutes had passed of the hour long wait, when I turned towards the girl just in time to hear her chirp, "Hi! My name is Levy. What's your name?" With a big grin on my face I looked at her for only a moment before replying.

"I've never heard the name Lucy before! It's really pretty. I noticed you were alone. Do you mind if I ask why?" She asked it so innocently. She was just so nice and I was so proud of myself for making a friend on my own. I'd have to tell Aquarius when I had the chance!

"Oh, well you see... I've run away from home. Mama died a while back and Papa just hasn't been Papa since. So I decided to be like Mama before she had me and join a guild!" I grinned real big so that she wouldn't catch the slight wobble in my voice.

"Really? I'm a part of a guild. It's called Fairy Tail, and I'm sure you could join if you asked Master." She said

"That's actually where I was going. May I assume that you are also taking the next train to Magnolia?" I asked. Levy started laughing but I had no clue as to what was so funny.

"I'm really sorry for laughing, it's just you sound so prim and proper!" Levy says after finally calming herself some.

"Well," I say, "Mama did raise me to be a Lady." Talking about her like this hurt, but I wanted to talk about Mama. Unlike Papa, I still write to her and I try my best to remember her and not let my memories go away.

"I don't really remember my family. But that's why I have Fairy Tail! I really hope you stay when you get there, I really think that we could be best friends!"

I almost can't believe what she just said. It takes me a long moment to process, but once I finally do I feel the happy tears well up in my eyes and a big grin spread wide across my face, "Do you really mean that? You promise?"

"I really do, I promise." She grinned back.

Suddenly the conductor was calling to board the train to Magnolia and as soon as I had recollected my things, Levy and I were running hand in hand onto the train.

A short while later, after Levy and I had found a carriage where we could be alone, we started talking about our magic. She had told me that she was a Solid Script mage and she told me all about how it worked. It was really cool! Finally I took out my keys and let her look at them. I had two of my Mamas gold keys, Aquarius and Cancer, as well as a gold key I had found when I was running away, which was supposed to be Taurus. There were also three silver keys: Horologium, Grampa Crux, and Lyra.

Levy looked at my keys, her eyes widening in wonder, "Wow, Lu, I've never seen celestial keys before! They're really pretty!"

I giggled at her comment, knowing I had had the same thought the first time Mama had given me hers, "I use these keys, and a chant, to call my spirits to my side. But one thing Mama _always_ told me was that my spirits are my friends. They may not be human, but that doesn't make them tools to use. They have feelings, wants, and needs just the same and we do. Oh! By the way! Would you like to see me make a contract with a spirit?" I ask excitedly.

"Oh Lu! That's such a beautiful thing to say. I would love to see you make a contract! Which one will you be making a contract with Lu?"

I really liked the nickname she had given me. I'd never had a nickname before, the household staff had always addressed me as Lady Lucy or Ms. Heartfilia, "Well I found this key," I responded, holding up Taurus's key, "while I was running from home. I haven't made a contract with them yet, and I'm probably gonna wait until I get somewhere outside. Spirits tend to be a little unpredictable with their size, especially with fighting spirits like the zodiac." I explained to her as she watched with rapt attention.

She giggled and smiled with understanding. We fell into quiet conversation until arriving in Magnolia.

Levy POV

Lu and I departed the train and I took her hand, leading her to Fairy Tail with me. I could tell by her reaction to me wanting to be friends that she hadn't been around very many kids our age. She seemed like a little adult sometimes with how proper and polite she was. Despite that, I somehow just _knew_ that she would fit right in at Fairy Tail.

"Hey Lu," I looked at her. She seemed to be deep in thought and when she looked at me I could see her hesitation, "don't worry about anything, okay? I promise that everyone is gonna love you as much as I already do!" I reassured her. She smiled a little more teasing and nodded her head once with a determined look transforming her face. It made me happy that I could help her.

After about 15 minutes of walking we were at the guild entrance. I looked back at Lu, giving her a sly smile before pushing the doors wide open to reveal a cacophony of noise and conversation from all the members. Cana was in the corner looking at different fortunes using her cards, Lisanna, Natsu, and Elfman were in the corner with Mirajane watching them closely from the bar stools. Erza was also at the bar, but despite the fact that she had a piece of strawberry cake in front of her, I noticed she was actually watching Gray as he sidled up to Natsu, probably to pick a fight.

Just as I was about to announce mine and Lu's arrival, a loud argument started between Natsu and Gray. When Erza was just about to stop them, Mirajane decided to tease Erza, "Why don't you just let them go at it, Erza? They're too stupid to learn any better anyways."

"What was that, demon?" Erza whipped around, coming nose to nose with Mirajane, who pushed forward, quite literally knocking foreheads with Erza.

"I said," she began emitting a dark aura, followed closely by Erza, "Why don't you—" but then Gray and Natsu had beat them to the brawl and as a chair got tossed it hit both of them in the head.

"Uh oh." I squeaked.

"What's going on Lev?" I heard Lu's question but couldn't take my eyes off of the train wreck about to happen in front of me.

Suddenly both Erza and Mirajane were on Natsu and Gray, smashing their heads together and tossing the respective boys across the guild hall.

I heard Lu squeak behind me, but just as soon as the brawl had begun, Erza and Mirajane had looked at each other, shared an understanding, and marched off to different areas of the guild. Huffing a sigh of relief, I took Lu's hand back in mine and announced our presence at last.

"Hey guys! I'm home! And I brought a new member with me!"

"Levy! Why would you go and embarrass me like that?" Lu said with a small pout. I just giggled as the rest of the guild looked our way, with Cana approaching us first.

"Hi, my name is Cana Alberona. What's your name?"

As Cana introduced herself I noticed that there was another person who's attention was on us. I was actually very surprised, as he didn't often take interest in the others around the guild lately. I was even more surprised when he decided to actually approach us.

Just as Lu was going to introduce herself to Cana, Laxus, the Masters grandson and a lightning mage himself, approached, and everybody went quiet. To my utter surprise, the boy simply walked up and looked down at Lu, his sound pods placed firmly on his ears and a small scowl adorning his sharp face. Lu looked up at him for a long moment before flashing one of what I was beginning to recognize as her signature grin, and giving a little curtsy while saying, "Hello! My name is Lucy. It's very nice to meet you, Cana. And what's your name, if you don't mind my asking?" she glanced once more at Cana, making sure not to leave her out, then turning towards Laxus once more.

"Name's Laxus, Blondie." He looked at her a moment or two more before going to say something else, but got cut off by Lu herself.

"You're a bonde too!" I was more than a little bewildered. Laxus was a famous S-class wizard who was known for his temper and willingness to zap people who irritated him.

What surprised me the most wasn't the fact that Laxus didn't zap Lu. It was that he threw his head back and _laughed_. I haven't heard him so much as chuckle in _years_ but 5 minutes of being here bought Lu a full bellied laugh from Laxus Dreyar.

I looked to Lu to see her reaction, only to find a quiet look of... I don't even know what on her face. Her smile was gentle though and her eyes were the color of sunlit honey, and soft as a down blanket in the winter time. I didn't really understand it, so I looked to Laxus to watch his reaction. After he settled down a bit, he watched her with a quiet smile adorning his lips. I was shocked.

Before I could look any harder, the smile disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, readily replaced by his hard scowl as Laxus looked towards Masters office. As if on cue, the Master came out of his office and looked around the guild hall, his eyes catching on Laxus, Lu, Cana, and myself, surprise highlighting his old features.

"What is all this commotion about? Laxus! I don't see you down here that often anymore. What's got you wondering the guild hall?"

"Tch. Whatever gramps. We've got a new recruit." He said, jerking his thumb towards Lu.

"Ah. Well, come here, child. I promise you're safe now. No matter where you came from, no matter what has happened. You have a family now. If I may ask, what is your magic?"

I watched Lu tear up again, but once more they were tears of happiness. I also saw how Laxus blanched, not knowing how to handle a crying girl, "Thank you. Thank you so, so much, sir."

Then just as promptly, Lu ran up and tackled Master in a hug.

Shocked for a moment he simply patted Lu on the back, trying his best to comfort her. I finally approached her and rubbed her back a bit, "Hey, Lu, why don't you tell Master what your magic is? I'm sure he'll find it just as amazing as I do." I said quietly. She pulled away from Master, still sitting on the floor though. I sat next to her and Cana made her way over with Laxus surprisingly following behind.

Lu smiled gently and pulled out her Celestial keys before saying with a wobbly voice, "I'm a Celestial Spirit mage. I only have three gold keys and three silver keys right now, but I want to get stronger and learn how to fight at my spirits sides better, to help them in any way I can!" She said as that determined look I was becoming so familiar with washed upon her features once more.

Master smiled, "I know you're a holder-type mage, but let me tell you, six keys—and three of them gold ones at that— is nothing to snuff your nose at, miss.. ah—"

Lu giggled again, "my name is Lucy."

"Yes, Lucy. It suits you perfectly. But as I was saying. Do you have contracts with any of the gold keys?" Master asked.

"Yup!" She said proudly, "I've been able to summon Aquarius since before— well, since I was little. And Cancer does my hair for me too. But I only just got Taurus. I haven't had the chance to make a contract with them." I stared in awe. From what I had read about Celestial Spirit mages, it took a _lot_ of magic to summon even a silver key. To have been able to summon a gold key since she was little? If she used caster magic, I would probably put her on par with Erza or Mirajane. But at the same time, I realize that's not how her magic works. She could be very powerful in her own right one day, but I don't think that she could put out the same kind of devastating force wielded by the two clashing female mages we were watching earlier.

My thoughts were interrupted by the Master speaking once more, "Well, Lucy, where would you like your guild mark, and in what color?" He asked.

She looked around at Cana, Laxus, Master and myself, "Um, well, I don't quite know. Would you mind if I saw some of yours to get an idea?" We all started to move our shirts to give her a look, and I was yet again surprised by how easily Laxus gave in to Lucy's requests, when Mest teleported in the middle of us all, making Lu and I squeak with surprise.

"Hi! I'm Mest, you're really cute, ya know? This is my Fairy Tail mark!" He said, showing off his upper bicep, and seemingly trying to flex.

Laxus had just grabbed him and tossed him across the guild when Natsu also burst in, "I'm Natsu! And my guild mark is better than his hands down!"

"What the hell is with you brats bursting into _our_ damn conversation?" Laxus growled as he zapped Natsu, "she asked us. Not you two morons."

Lucy simply giggled, "I think I've decided." She said after seeing our threes marks finally.

"Well what would you have then, child?"

"I want it in gold on my shoulder blade, just like Lev!" She said brightly. I couldn't help how my heart swelled with pride that she would want her guild mark like mine.

"Alright, here you are then." Master said as I heard the _pop_ of the guild stamp leave her skin.

"Oh, Lu! It looks so pretty!" I smiled brightly.

"It suits you" Laxus muttered, but let a small hint of a smile slip through that no one but myself seemed to notice. Lu took it as a smile, but I knew better. He cared for her, and she just didn't know how out of character that was for him.

"It really does look good, Lucy. Hey, would you like to sit with me? I'd really like to get to know you." Cana asked Lu.

"Yeah! Will you come sit with us too Lev? Laxus?" She looked at the both of us with hope glittering in those amber eyes and I just couldn't say no. Apparently neither could Laxus because he simply grunted and motioned for her to lead the way while I just nodded vigorously and walked next to her and Cana towards an open table while Laxus trailed behind.

"Hey, Lu? Do you have any where to stay? I'm sure you could get a room in Fairy Hills and then we could go on some jobs and stuff so we can pay rent." I offered.

"Until then, you can stay in my room, if you'd want. I know Levy's room is floor to ceiling books." Cana said snickering.

"Really?!" Lu looked at me with hearts in her eyes, "can I read some of them?"

I giggled, "Sure, Lu." And she squealed happily.

"Hey Laxus, where do you live?" Lu asked. Cana and I froze up for a second before we heard Laxus give a small chuckle.

"I just moved out of gramps' place to a place of my own outside of town. Maybe when everything gets settled you can come see it with my team." It was at that particular moment that Master had decided to walk up, and upon hearing Laxus's offer, keeled over, holding his chest and I could swear I saw his ghost leaving his body. Laxus simply looked at his grandfather, made his infamous little _tch_ sound, and promptly ignored the Master entirely.

Finally and quickly, master recovered himself and hopped up onto our table, "Lucy, this is your room key to Fairy Hills. This month you won't have to pay rent, _but_ that is no reason to dilly-dally. Rent is 100,000 jewel a month, and from the looks of that small backpack, it looks like you need to buy clothes too. Feel free to decorate your room however you choose and don't do too much damage." He finished, handed Lu the key, and walked back up to his office.

We all talked for a few more hours until we all decided that we'd meet back in the guild tomorrow morning and Cana wanted to take Lu for her first ever job. It was all so exciting and I couldn't wait for the next day.

Laxus walked us— ahem, Lu— to the edge of Fairy Hills grounds and then took off, leaving us three to go to our own rooms and think about what a weird day it had been. I smiled at my ceiling, after laying down for the night. I couldn't help the giddy feeling of excitement run through my veins one last time before sleep took me under.

 **Phew! Now that I have this idea out and about, I feel a bit better. I warned you guys that there would be some differences! I know what you're thinking. Lucy is 11 and Laxus is (about) 16. Worry not, dear readers!! Laxus is not a pedo. The looks I'm talking about here are strictly platonic, if not familial. Now, I don't know if you've read some of my other stuff but I've decided to do a little QA at the end of each chapter where I answer your questions and concerns. So shoot me a PM or leave a review!**


	2. Nakama

**I won't give you much preamble, but I do want to thank everyone for their reviews, follows, and favorites. You are all so so appreciated! Thank you so much! I would like to remind all that I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I hope you all enjoy!**

 _Laxus POV_

I woke up to bright sunshine drifting through my windows. I sat up and looked around my room. I had chosen to leave behind my twin mattress at gramps' place in favor of getting myself a futon for my room instead. As I looked around the room I let the memories of the day before wash over my mind. I didn't really know how to feel, if I was being honest with myself.

Finally I flipped my cover off of my body and hopped in the shower. I remember when my pops decided to put this lacrima behind my eye. It had been one of the most painful experiences of my life, and left this giant scar on my face. I used to be so ashamed of it, and I still kind of am. People would look at me differently, tip toeing around me, trying to give me their condolences and their pity. None of it had helped. I was always so angry. ' _Who am I kidding? I still am_.' I thought dryly.

My thoughts drifted back to the new girl. She had surprised me yesterday. I had been wondering why I was so drawn to her, approaching without thought.

 _I noticed her as soon as she came in. The unfamiliar scent of honey and vanilla wafer accompanying Levy's usual scent of books and metallic ink. Levy announced her arrival as well as that of the new girl's. I could feel my feet moving before conscious thought even had a chance to make any connection between them and my mind._

 _"My name is Cana Alberona. What's your name?" I heard the card mage introduce herself with a gentle smile, and curiosity lighting her violet eyes as I took a few more steps to join the conversation._

 _The girl looked at me, looked at me for a moment before turning her eyes toward Cana once more, "Hello! My name is Lucy. It's very nice to meet you, Cana." She turned back towards me, the same smile lighting her features, "And what's your name, if you don't mind my asking?"_

 _"Name's Laxus, Blondie." I looked down at the little blonde. She had these big honey colored eyes that seemed to just soak up every little thing around her. I fully expected this little girl to whine or cry at her nickname, like Evergreen often did. Maybe even cry because the scar on his face looked scary. Some little girl had done exactly that just two days before, and her mother had glared at him as if he wanted little kids to cry just by looking at him._

 _"You're blonde too!" Blondie yelled defiantly. My eyes widened in shock. Before I could stop myself, I felt a laugh rumble through my chest all the way from my belly. This little girl was only, what, 11? And yet she had more guts than most of the adults did, to be able to hold her own against me._

 _Once my laughter settled down, I looked at Blondie again, feeling my features soften as I tipped my head to get a better look at her._

 _The moment, however, was ruined by gramps coming out of his office. Well, I heard him jump onto the floor and his footsteps toward his office door. Even after these years, by hearing was so sensitive that I had had my sound pods sound proofed so that it muffled the outside noise. Unfortunately for me, however, I could still hear everything going on around me plenty well._

I was brought out of my reverie by a knock on my apartment door. I threw some pants and a shirt on quickly and answered the door just as another knock was beginning.

"What?" I snarled out just as I looked far below me to see gramps standing at my door, a stern look on his face.

"We need to have a discussion, Laxus." Was all the old man said.

"Tch. What about?" I said, staying in the door way, not wanting him to come in because I knew as soon as he came in he would stay for god knows how long, and there was no way I was down for that.

"Lucy." He said quietly, knowing damn well that I could hear him. My head whipped back and forth. My jaw was clenched so hard I felt like I would break my own jaw.

"Fine." I managed to growl out around my own clogged throat. If gramps wanted to talk about Blondie, then I'd let him in. Obviously something was bothering him, and no matter how much I resented being stuck in his damn shadow, I knew better than to blatantly ignore him when the old pervert was being this serious.

Almost as soon as I shut my door he started, "Why were you acting that way towards Lucy, Laxus?"

I simply shrugged, "Dunno. It just kind of happened. I don't know what you're so worried for, gramps. S'not like I'm gonna hurt her or anything. She's just… interesting, I guess."

"Are you telling me the truth right now, Laxus?" Gramps asked, a little bewildered. He seemed to be studying me intently, as if trying to figure out all of my deepest secrets, as if the nosy bastard didn't already know them all. Hell, gramps and Gildarts probably know my skeletons by name and have had tea with them by now.

"I don't know what reason I'd have to lie to you, gramps. I'm a bastard, but I'm not fucking stupid." I replied.

"Hmm. Maybe you have a crush on her?" Gramps asked me with a creepy waggle of his eyebrows.

"Gramps! She's 11, and I'm 16. Unlike you, I'm not a total pervert, and there's no way in hell that I would ever date any of the chicks from the guild."

"I never know, Laxus. Anyhow, if you are going to continue to hang around Lucy, then I feel that you should also take the time to show her some stuff. I had a small discussion with her this morning before Cana dragged her and Levy off to a job a few towns over. She seems very determined to become stronger, both physically and magically, and as I saw your actions towards her yesterday, I figured you'd be a perfect candidate to help her out and guide her. I'm not saying anything one way or the other, as it is years too soon, but, if you want to become a guild master one day, you will need these types of experiences; to be able to lead another to greatness by setting the example and teaching them better ways. Do you understand me, Laxus?"

I looked down at gramps, all pretenses of being annoyed, or really anything but stunned, dropped. He simply held steady, gazing at me with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Why would you pick me to help out Blondie?" I asked, letting my curiosity peek out through my usual poker face.

"Because I can already tell that you will help her to the best of your ability. A blind man could see that you already care for her. So, in order to get you to at least develop some kind of presence in the guild, I think that being around someone your age who hasn't been around would be good for the both of you." He further explained.

' _I don't need your meddling_ ' I was going to reply, but the words caught in my mouth. I stepped back for a moment and mulled over what he had said. Someone who wasn't there when the shit with pops went down, eh? That… could be interesting. I already have Freed, Evergreen, and Bixlow as my team so far. I wonder if maybe Blondie could join my team; but then again she already seems to be getting along with Cana and Levy. Still, it couldn't very well hurt to ask. At the least, if she does decide to form a team with Cana and Levy instead, I could take her on duo missions every once in a while to get a feel for how she performs and how she could improve.

"Fine."

"Thank you, Laxus." Gramps says as he makes his way to the door once more. I follow closely behind.

"Whatever, old man. I ain't doin' this for you." I reply quietly.

"I know. That doesn't, however, make me any less thankful."

"Tch. Just go already so I can leave."

We both walked to the guild together, no more words spoken. No more needed to be spoken

 _Cana POV_

We had just finished up the mission in Oak town. It was pretty simple: find a necklace in the woods just outside of town. With my cards telling us where to look we found it pretty quickly, and even made a few hundred extra jewel because of how quickly we got the job done. The job was only 70,000 jewel, which became 70,500 after the added jewel. Levy and I had decided that as a "welcome to Fairy Tail" gift, we would let Lucy keep the whole reward so that she could get some new clothes and set back some jewel for her rent.

Lucy and Levy were chatting happily beside me. I don't remember a time when I felt so natural, so secure in my own skin. I looked ahead and noticed a shop with dresses in the window similar to the white sundress that Lucy has on. I tug on Lucy's hand quickly to get her attention and when she looks at me, a serene smile on her face, I smile back and point ahead of us, "Hey, look at that boutique up ahead. Do you want to try and find some new clothes there Lucy?"

She looks ahead to where I'm pointing and her face lights up, "Yes! I know it seems odd, but I really do love dresses. They remind me of Mama and how beautiful she was."

Her smile turns a little gentler at the memory, but then she looks at Levy and I with a sly smile before taking off in a sprint yelling behind her, "Race ya!"

"Hey!" Levy and I called out at the same time, taking off into our own sprints. I was quick to catch up as I was the tallest of the group, and Levy trailed behind a little. Once we were all in front of the boutique, Lucy grinned at us before opening up the doors and waltzing inside.

We all were looking at dresses and other various accessories when I heard Lucy and Levy gasp at almost the exact same time. I walked over to where they were at in the racks and came across Lucy holding a pretty spaghetti strap silver sundress with rose pink frills lining the top and the bottom of the skirt with a thin rose pink silk sash wrapping around the waist to knot on the side of the dress, leaving the excess to waterfall down. Next I look over to see Levy clutching a piece of silk cloth that was the same orange that lined the white of her guild mark. I grinned at them both.

"Did ya find something you like?"

"It's so perfect..." they both whispered at the same time. I grinned and snatched up both items, throwing them over my forearm.

"Well ladies, Lucy needs more than just three dresses and it's not like I need money for anything. So, let's have a shopping day!" The two girls cheered and went back to the racks.

I watched for who knows how long, participating somewhat, but I was too lost in thought. From what I had heard earlier this morning, before I had dragged Lucy and Levy out on the job, my father would be returning from his job within the month. I knew that I should tell him about myself. About mom. But I just never knew how to tell him. Master knew, and so did Macao, but he only knew because he had eves dropped on hers and masters conversation when she had joined the guild. I couldn't help but feel the weight of his return on my chest. I wanted to be _enough._ That's all. He was _the_ Gildarts Clive. _The_ _Ace of Fairy Tail_ is what they called him. They even had a shift for the town because of his tendency to walk through buildings. I felt the heaviness in my heart push down on me once more before Lucy managed to drag me from my thoughts.

She was holding up a pair of arm cuffs, a deep blue color lined with silver and grinning widely at me. I took them. They were a bit big for me, but Lucy took the time to point out that I would grow into them and that she thought the blue complimented my eyes "beautifully". I blushed and took them, adding them to my items to purchase.

Finally, around 4 o'clock, with arms full of bags, the three girls made their way to the train station, chatting aimlessly about various topics.

"Hey Cana," Lucy looked to me, gaining my attention, "how does your magic work? It's so pretty." I smiled pretty sheepishly.

"Well, like you, I'm a holder-type mage. I channel my magic through my cards in the same way you do your keys. When I'm telling fortunes or trying to find something I have to put all of my concentration towards a certain question, person, or item. When I'm using my card in battle, I have to concentrate on what card I want to pull from the deck, pull it, then further channel my magic into projecting what's on the card into the physical world. It sounds complicated, but it's actually pretty simple." I explain.

"Wow." She says. She grins really big and I can't help but smile back, "that's really cool! You can probably do so much. I'm kinda jealous, even though I wouldn't give up my keys for anything." It made me smile bigger at the fact that she thought my magic was cool. I had always thought that my magic was really boring compared to Erza or Mira's magic.

Just then the train announcer came over the intercom lacrima telling all the passengers that we were 10 minutes away from Magnolia.

As Levy, Lucy, and I depart the train those 10 minutes later, I hear someone groaning off to my right. I look over only to find none other than Natsu trying to recover from his usual motion sickness.

"Natsu! Come _on!_ The train is about to leave again!" I hear Lisanna call out, attempting to drag Natsu off the train.

"Oh my. C'mon Cana, we should probably help Lisanna with Natsu. It's kinda late and they shouldn't be on the train so long." Levy says quietly from beside me.

Before I can even agree, Lucy has already swept up from behind us and made her way to the pair of stragglers. It was then that I noticed the conductor was trying to hurry Lisanna and Natsu off and threatening to make them pay for another trip if they got stuck on the train. Lucy just calmly walked up to the conductor and flashed her biggest, most sweetest and apologetic smile I'm sure she could muster and said, "I'm really sorry for my friends behavior. He's just feeling quite ill right now. If you could please just give us a moment more, I promise we'll be out of your way in no time."

The conductor looked at Natsu doubtfully but said, "Five more minutes. I won't guarantee anything more."

"Thank you so much, sir!" Lucy called to his retreating back, smiling. He looked over his shoulder and harrumphed. As soon as his back was turned once more she dropped her hand and smile, glaring daggers into the back of his head with a dark aura surrounding her and making me shiver, "Jerk."

Finally she looked towards Natsus prone form and grabbed one arm, motioning me to grab the other, and together we pulled him out of the train which promptly left the station only moments after we finally got Natsu off.

"Thank you so much!" Lisanna said quickly. She had small tears in her eyes and I couldn't help but notice how stressed she seemed about the entire situation as well as the emmense relief from receiving help when so many people had simply ignored her plight for help. It ticked me off that so many people would just walk by or ignore someone asking for help. That so many people would choose to remain uncaring or even ignorant.

"Don't worry about it, Lis. It was nothing. Besides, what kind of Fairy a tail mages would we be if we left our nakama behind?" I replied with a nonchalant wave of my hand.

"It is just as Cana has said, Ms. Lisanna. Forgive my forwardness, for I know I am new, however, we _are_ nakama now. And I will do everything that I can to take care of my nakama and ensure their safety." Lucy said simply. Granted, it was in her very prim and proper way, but it was becomeing rather obvious to me that she only relinquished these formalities around Levy, Laxus, and myself. It made me happy that she trusted me as much as she did. I wanted to talk to her later about something that I had had on my heart since my own mother had passed away. Maybe Lucy would understand. I bet she would.

"You aren't being forward at all!" Lisanna giggled as Natsu was finally recovering himself from his motion sickness, "You are so nice. Again, thank you for your kindness. I hope to repay your help and your kind words one day. Come on, Natsu! We have to go talk to Master about the job!" And off her and the Fire Dragon Slayer went, with the slayer calling back a quick " _Thanks, see ya later!"_ Behind him.

Finally the three of us walked out of the station, chattering about our buys and telling different stories to each other about our pasts and various subjects.

After a comfortable bout of silence I hear Levy pipe up a bit, "Hey, Lu," she said to garner Lucy's attention, "When were you planning to summon your new spirit?"

This question caught my attention rather quickly. She was going to summon one of her spirits?

"I can do that as soon as we get closer to Fairy Hills, if you'd like." Lucy replied quietly, with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful Lu!" Levy replied brightly.

"Would you mind if I watched too, Lucy?" I interjected into the conversation.

"Of course! The more the merrier, don't you think? You're probably going to be really disappointed though. It's not as exciting as I think you two are hoping for it to be..." She said slowly.

"What do you mean Lucy?" I asked her, my curiosity reaching its peak.

"Oh! Forgive me if I seemed rude. I simply meant that forming the contract isn't really all that exciting. Basically all I do is ask if the spirit wants to make a contract, and if so, when I can summon them." She explained quaintly.

"I still think that's really cool. You kinda have a lot to remember then, huh?" I asked, knowing that her memory muct be good for her to remember every single contract she has.

"Well I suppose it would be." She acknowledged.

"Well then let's get moving!" Levy says at last.

 **Okay. So it's Q/A time. Well, I didn't get many questions, but I'll answer some stuff that I feel people may be wondering at the moment.**

 **Will there be cannon circumstances, just with a twist?**

 ** _That is a resounding yes. I really love Fairy Tail and changing it too much would feel wrong. The characters will, however, seem a little OOC, but I plan to keep them as close to their cannon personalities as is possible._**

 **What team will form?**

 ** _I've actually planned this out quite a bit, weighing the personalities and traits of each member and their purpose in my higher planning. I won't tell you the final team, but just know that Levy still forms team Shadow Gear with her two faithful friends Jet and Droy, and Laxus still has the Raijinshū._**

 **Is this story going to be Lucy-centered?**

 ** _Yes and no. Obviously Lucy is the reason this story is happening, but I will be telling the story from a few POV's. I feel like I should also warn you that there will be a few time skips (major ones) throughout this story._**

 **Is there an end game?**

 ** _Simply stated? No. Both this story, and Stronger than You Think, are long hauls. I have zero end games and a few arcs for these at the moment and have plans to keep them going for as long as I have it in myself._**

 **Alright. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has showed their support for this story so far! I promise to try and not keep anyone waiting too much. To anyone reading Stronger Than You Think: the next chapter will be posted this coming week, I promise! I hope everyone has a great day/week/however-long-until-I-post-the-next-chapter!! Please leave a review or shoot me a PM if you have comments/questions/concerns!**


	3. Promises

_Two months later, September x778_

 _Third Person POV_

It was a particularly quiet morning in the town of Magnolia. The guild known as Fairy Tail, especially seemed quiet today. It had been a few days since the big celebration of the hatching of the egg Natsu and Lisanna had been taking care of. Said egg had hatched a small blue cat with white wings. Natsu and Lisanna had decided to call the little cat Happy, and the guild had partied for days afterwards. Now, however, it was peaceful and while unusual, this peace was not unwelcome to the citizenry of Magnolia. This peace was, of course, very short lived as a loud squeal of delight emanated from within the walls of the infamously rowdy guild.

Within the guild, at a table only a few short strides away from the bar, sat three girls, each with a piece of paper clutched in their left hand, and their right formed into the game of rock, paper, scissors. The blonde and brunette had looks of shock and disappointment scrawled across their faces, staring between each others paper signs and their bluenette friends scissor sign. They both groaned with apprehension.

Said bluenette was the one from which the squeal had emanated from, as she fist pumped the hand closed around the job request, "Remember you two! We said fair is fair. Whoever wins this round gets to pick the job and _no vetos!"_ The little bluenette chirped, a dangerous aura coming from her at the last two words.

"Y-yes Lev!" The blonde and brunette yelled, drawing the attention of some of the older guild members around them.

Particularly Natsu, Lisanna, and the newly hatched Happy.

As the three trailed over towards the girls' table, some of the older guild members and the Master took note of how close the three girls had gotten, and especially the evolving dynamics of the friends...

Macao and Master Macarov sat at the bar, a beer in both of their possessions, "Who would have thought that Levy of all of them would be the one to keep the other two in check huh?" Macao said softly.

"Well, I believe that we were all quite surprised at how Cana and Lucy are quite the little trouble makers. Lucy, despite how polite and sweet she is, has a bit of a devious streak. Especially when she feels her nakama are being insulted."

"And she's scarier than either Erza or Mira when she gets pissed. I swear, it's all in that too sweet smile that she just seems to be saying 'try me' when you're getting on her nerves."

"Yes. I can tell that she will be a force to be reckoned with when she gets older. Even if it's not in raw power, her brain and cunning will take her to the top if she so chooses." Makarov says with a small smile on his face.

"I would be willing to put money on that one, Master. Especially with that grandson of yours being the one helping her learn to control her magic. Despite my initial reservations on your decision, I must say that Laxus is doing well as a teacher. I mean, I knew he needed control for his magic, but I never would have imagined just how tight his control actually is." A new voice joined the conversation. It was none other than Wakaba.

"Of course he has to have a vice grip on his magic, you moron." Macao replied with an eye roll to his long standing friend and drinking buddy.

As the adults continued their conversation (argument), Master Macarov made his way up to his office and Natsu asked Levy what she was so excited about.

"Well, Natsu, we couldn't decide who would choose the job today, so we decided that each of us would pick a job and whoever won rock, paper, scissors would have the job that we go on. I won so today we're going on a job to an ancient library to find a tome about some lost magic that the client is requesting. It sounds so exciting!" Levy squealed again, making Natsu cringe because of his sensitive hearing.

"Lev! It sounds super boring. There's never anything fun in the library of all places." Cana interjects

"Now, Cana, that isn't necessarily true. I take much joy and pride from reading. My only qualm is that this kind of mission is not going to challenge our magic, Lev. You know just as well as I do that Laxus has been pushing for us to take harder missions lately." Lucy says, using reason.

Levy stands up and places her fists on her hips, looking at the two girls with a gleam in her eye, "Now, what did we say? Whoever wins fair and square chooses. I chose this. No vetos, no trying to convince me otherwise. And Lu, when did you become Freed? Last I checked he was the one who followed Laxus without question. Consider this a break. You can't further yourself if you never rest." Levy finished, using her best motherly tone.

Lucy's face dusted lightly pink, she simply nodded her head, silently agreeing to go on the mission Levy had chose.

"Aw, Lu. There's no need to get embarrassed! We all know you have a crush on Laxus." Cana said in a sing song voice and with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"It is not like that, Cana and you know it. Laxus is far more suitable as a big brother than a crush." Lucy said, sniffing her nose in playful disdain, but with a very light shade of pink still finding its way across her nose.

 _Levy POV_

I walked towards Masters Office so that I could get the mission approved. I turned when Cana cackled at Lucy and I sent a small smile their way. Cana knew as well as I did that Lucy didn't actually have a crush on Laxus, she simply looked up to him as a friend and mentor. I can often find Lucy taking Laxus's words to heart and storing and cataloguing all of her lessons on her down time. I had even found a journal which I had promptly asked Lucy about, to which Lucy told me that she always transcribed the things she learned in her lessons into that journal so that she would always have any necessary information on hand.

When I pointed out that she had an *eidetic memory, she simply shrugged and pointed out that not everyone did and she could possibly use this information to help others. I couldn't help but smile at the memory of that day. Lucy had been wearing a pretty yellow flowing dress embroidered with a gold floral design. Lucy did have an affinity for dresses and she had a more expensive taste in clothes. That being said, she didn't have a lot of clothes. Just a few nice dresses and outfits, much like myself.

Ironically, she was wearing that same dress today. The guild had long gotten used to her strange need to be polite and formal all the time, except with her closest few. Remembering how at our first lesson together she had tried calling Laxus "Mr. Dreyar" I felt the need to snort. I had never seen that boy look so horrified in my life, and I had known him for quite a few years.

I knocked on Masters door, job flyer in hand. I heard him call a quick "Come in!"

"Good morning, Master. I was hoping that you could approve this job for us." He looked up from his small stack of paperwork.

"Ah, good morning, child. Let me see it?" He held out his hand and I gave it to him, "Seems very straight forward, but I will warn you: there is something that is not as it seems. I would assume that Lucy and Cana will be accompanying you." I nodded my head, "Well just remember: each of you has different strengths and weaknesses. Lean on each other when you feel weak, and learn from each other when you feel strong. You are nakama. There is no shame in asking for help from yor family."

I smiled at Master, "Of course Master. And I promise to keep those two from causing any mischief." I giggled and left the office with Master muttering about having a purple tongue.

I looked to the table to see Lucy and Cana smiling brightly and talking quietly between each other. I know that they have been wanting to form a team lately, but I dont think I'll be in it. I would still love to go on jobs, but right now I want to be a solo mage and build up my strength.

Honestly, it's not that the thought of joining the two girls on a team was unappealing. They were like sisters to me. After everything that first week Lucy'd been here, Cana and Lucy had become virtually inseparable, and more often than not, I was also with them. Sometimes I would walk into Lucy or Cana's room and they would be sitting on the floor, sipping tea or hot chocolate, deep in some kind of conversation.

At first, I had felt a little jealous of Cana. I had been the first to meet Lucy and bring her to Fairy Tail. I had been her friend first. So why did it feel like Cana had stolen her? Then one day, Lucy had asked me to sleep over in her room. When I got there, I had been expecting to see Cana there too, but to my surprise, it was just Lucy and myself.

 _"Hey, Lu! Where's Cana? I figured she'd be here already." I asked, genuinely surprised._

 _"Oh, well, I just wanted to spend some time with you. I also wanted to thank you for bringing me to Fairy Tail with you. You were my very first friend I ever made on my own and that's something really, really special to me, and I've been thinking about the best way to thank you, so I decided that we could have a slumber party. Just the two of us! We can drink your favorite tea, and I even read that book that you love so much so that you can finally discuss it with someone. We can even light some candles and stay up late!" She was grinning at me as if what she had done was something small. As if what she had just said was as normal as breathing. I could feel myself tearing up. I had felt jealous of Cana, but now I knew, I wasn't forgotten or pushed aside. She still thought of me as special to her, and for whatever reason, that was really important to me._

 _She noticed my tears and ran over, trying to figure out why I was crying, "Lu, you're just so great. Thank you. Thank you! I feel so special." I hugged her tight, unable to stop myself from squeezing the small blonde._

 _"Honestly, Lev, this is nothing. I feel like I owe you a lot more than just a slumber party…"_

I was drawn out of my reverie by the sound of a table breaking and shrieks of anger following. I ran to the bannister and looked down to see that Natsu and Gray had started yet another brawl. Erza was already moving to break the boys apart before anyone else could get drawn into the fight, but she was beat to it. Lucy pulled out her whip (one of the weapons that Laxus had her training with), while Cana pulled out her cards. Lucy flicked her whip at Natsu, wrapping the thick cord around his ankles, causing him to fall over. Simultaneously, Cana had summoned a couple snakes that wrapped themselves around Gray and he fell over too.

"Now, forgive my interruption, however, you broke our table with your preposterous rough housing, so if I may, I'm going to kindly ask you to _stop_!" And with her last word, Lucy used all her strength to fling Natsu across the guild. He promptly hit the wall opposite from Lucy and fell to the ground, knocked out. She looked toward the tied up Gray and you could just feel the fear radiating off of the poor boy at her glare, "Are we going to have any further problems, Mr. Fullbuster?" Lucy asked gently.

"N-no. Not at all ma'am!" Gray managed to get out.

Lucy's face transformed into a large smile, but the dangerous gleam remained, "That is good. I hope that you can behave yourself then. Otherwise, you'll have to be next." I could hear the entire guild gulp, and even Erza and Mira looked impressed. It's really too bad Laxus wasn't here, he would have gotten a real kick out of seeing the entire guild scared of Lucy since he always teased her about no one ever being scared of such a small girl.

After the guild settled down I made my way downstairs and approached my two best friends, "The job is approved! Are you two ready to go back to Fairy Hills and pack our stuff? We should pack for about a week and a half. The job itself should only take a week, but it's better safe than sorry."

"You bet, Lev. By the way, while you were gone Lu and I were talking about team names. You got anything?"

"Yes. We wanted to ask you for your input too." Lucy added sweetly. My eyes widened. I knew they had been talking about forming a team lately, but I didn't think they would propose it so soon.

"Actually, I was going to talk to you guys about that on the train to Marigold." I say nervously. Cana just nods, but Lucy looks at me worriedly, knowing something was wrong.

I finally convince the two that it's nothing bad and that I'll tell them as soon as we get on the train.

We got to Fairy Hills quickly and pack our bags for the next week and a half, Lucy dragging her small gold suitcase and Cana bringing her blue one. Mine was orange, my favorite color.

 _small time skip brought to you by an awkward author_ *

 _Cana POV_

"So what were you wanting to talk about Lev?" I asked once we got into our train car. I didn't want to admit that I already knew. I had had a bad feeling when Levy had hesitated to answer us, so I decided to do a fortune on who would be in the team, and I got The Maiden, representing Lucy, The Youth, representing myself, and The Child, but I didn't know who The Child could be, as Levy was always represented by the card of Knowledge.

Levy was looking down at her boots when she finally took a deep breath, "I'mnotjoiningtheteamI'mso-sorry!"

I felt my eyes widen. I had often heard Levy talk like this when she didn't know how to say something and she had to force herself to spit the words out.

"What ever could you mean, Lev?" I heard Lucy ask.

"I mean… I want to be solo for a little while longer, and I do still want to go on jobs with you two, but I don't want to be an official team member."

"I understand." I said finally, "we'll always love you, Lev, you never have to worry about losing us just because you aren't an official team member. You can just be an honorary one!"

"Cana is right, Lev. We love you, nothing will ever be able to change that. And that is my promise to you." Lucy sent Levy her signature blinding smile.

I saw Levy begin to tear up before she launched herself at us and we all had a long group hug, eventually all falling asleep on one another.

 _Third Person POV_

"Attention all passengers, the train will be arriving in MarigoldStation shortly. Please gather your belongings and prepare for our final stop. Thank you for riding with us, and have a good day!"

The three girls groaned out their displeasure of being woken up together. Lucy, who was on the right, blinked owlishly at her surroundings, "Alright you two. It's time to get up and get our things. I'd rather prefer getting to our hotel to sleep."

"Aw, but Lu~, I wanna snuggle!" Cana hollered, just a little too loudly for the other two's liking.

"Cana," Levy, who was in the middle, whined, "why are you always so loud when you wake up?" Not being able to help herself, she snuggled deeper into the warm embrace of her two best friends.

"I'll tell you what," Lucy said, noticing how Levy had silently agreed with Cana, "why don't we just get one room with a queen bed and we can all snuggle." Lucy had found herself becoming more and more comfortable around Cana and Levy over the last two months. She never felt the need to be overly formal with the two, and Cana had even managed to bring out her mischievous side. Last week alone they had managed to magically dye the Masters tongue purple and sneak hot sauce onto Gray's meal and get Natsu to eat "cold fire" which had actually done the trick of making the fire mage shiver. Then Gray and Natsu had gotten into an argument before Mira and Erza got involved and flung the two boys out of the guild.

"Really Lu? You'd be okay with that?" Cana asked. She knew very well that Lucy loved her personal space. It was almost sacred, and Lucy very rarely liked her space invaded. She remembered one time when poor Elfman had snuck up on her and touched her shoulder, just looking to make her jump. The poor boy had ended up being flung across the guild. After that, everyone made sure not to sneak up on the polite and scary celestial mage.

"Yeah, Lu. We don't have to if you don't want." Levy chimed in, though her current death grip on her two companions said the opposite. She rather liked the comfort she was receiving and didn't want their snuggle session to end at all, much less for good.

Lucy simply smiled, glad that her friends cared so much, "Yes, I'm very sure. I like your snuggles." And it was true. Only with these two girls and Laxus could she be fully open and comfortable, and only with these two would she ever consider having a snuggle session.

"Alright! Oh, the train is slowing down. C'mon Lev, Lu, let's get our stuff. We can snuggle tonight and then go see the requester tomorrow." Cana said, now full of energy and excitement at getting some quality snuggle time with her two best friends.

Finally off the train, the three girls looked around the sleepy town of Marigold. The job itself was very simple: the requestor needed help finding a book about some lost magic in an ancient library, and for some reason they are convinced that it is being hidden by magic and only someone with magic can find it. The three girls had noted this as odd and were all set to ask the requestor to elaborate.

After only a few minutes of walking, the three arrived at a little place called 'Silver's Bar and Inn'. Cana, having seen the sign, now sported an impish grin, which the other two rolled their eyes to.

"Cana," Lucy began, "we already agreed that we were going to get a room and go to sleep."

"Aw, but come on, Lu. Just a little bit of fun! You know you wanna let loose!" Cana said with a suggestive waggle of her brows.

"Cana, I think Lu is right, we don't need to have hangovers tomorrow anyways. We can party after we've completed the job." Levy said, looking at Lucy, trying to tell the blonde with her eyes that the only way to convince the brunette not to drink tonight was to make a compromise with her.

Lucy, who was quite torn with what to do, looked between her two friends for a long moment, "Alright, Lev. After we complete the job, we can have a few nights of fun. Are you amicable to this, Cana?"

Cana pouted before finally agreeing to the terms, "Fine, but as soon as this job is over, we're partying. And you are definitely joining in on it." She said, pointing at Lucy.

Lucy giggled, figuring that Cana and Levy both thought she would be a total lightweight. Little did the two know, she could already hold her liquor decently, as her father had had her take lessons on different alcohols and how to know the differences between them. She had also been a host to many balls and parties and had had to drink nearly constantly and be able to still hold conversation and conduct herself in a lady-like manner. She may be 11, but she had had to grow up too quickly; probably too quickly for her own good, "Very well, your wish shall be granted."

"Figures you'd grant wishes, since your magic is the stars." Levy said, hiding her sly smile behind her hand.

Lucy flushed, "That's not how that works…"

The bluenette and brunette laughed at their blonde friend, who really was just too easy to tease, as the three walked into the Inn.

"Well hello there!" a loud feminine voice called out after they entered.

Lucy looked up and sent out her signature smile to the woman who seemed to own the Bar and Inn, "Good evening! My partners and I were hoping that we could solicit a room from you."

"Well aren't you just the cutest! Why of course you can rent a room. Did you need three beds? Oh, by the way, I'm Silver, the one that the place is named after. If you need anything at all, you can feel free to come talk to me." The woman said. She had long, lavender hair with dark blue eyes. She was rather tall for a woman, though that may have just been her brown heeled boots, with an hourglass figure covered by a knee length yellow sun dress.

"Nope. Just one bed's s'all we need! Right girls?" Cana said, hooking her arms around her two companions' necks.

"If you could, please, and for two weeks." Levy added.

"Also, could you make it a queen size mattress?" Lucy ended with.

Silver laughed at the trio, thinking of how perfect the three were together: The outgoing, audacious one; the motherly, sociable one; and the polite and kind one.

"Yes, I can meet all of those requests easily. So what are your names little ones? And what brings you to this sleepy slice of Fiore?" Silver asked, making light conversation while she wrote them up in her books

"Cana's the name, magic's the game!"

"My name is Levy McGarden, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Lucy Heart, and we're all mages of Fairytail. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance Ms. Silver."

Once again, Silver chuckled at them. She couldn't help but be amused at the girls standing in front of her. They were all so strange and unique, but they were perfect for each other, like puzzle pieces that fit together seamlessly, "Fairytail eh? I've heard they're a mixed bag of nuts, but fun and effective. How old are you girls anyways? You can't be much older than my daughter, and you're already part of a guild?"

Cana simply laughed at the Inn keeper's questions, already quite used to getting reactions like hers. Levy smiled, but wasn't as exuberant as Cana. Lucy took it upon herself to answer Silver's questions, "Well, Ms. Silver—"

"Please, call me Silver."

A bit miffed at being interrupted, Lucy resettled herself before continuing, "Very well. We are with Fairytail, yes, and Lev and Iare 11, while Cana is only a year older. There are a few others in Fairytail our age, and I am not quite able to tell other's stories, but as for myself, just over a year ago my mother passed away and my father became… different. So I left for Fairytail, and have been a member ever since."

"My parents passed away and I didn't really have anywhere to go, until I came across Fairytail and Master took me in and I learned Solid Script magic."

"Don't expect to hear about my sob story."

"Cana! Don't be so rude about it, at least." Levy chided her friend.

"Oh, don't worry Levy. I don't mind at all, I have a daughter of my own after all." Silver laughed, "Alright, well here's your room key, ladies. It'll be on the second floor, down the right hallway, and on your left."

"How much do we owe you?" Lucy asked.

"Consider this on the house, you three are too cute and gave me some entertainment. Have a good night, ladies, sleep well."

"Thank you!" the three replied together, "Alright! Now to get some snuggles!" Cana yelled as they climbed the stairs, eliciting another chuckle from Silver, though they didn't hear it.

Once they got to their room and they all changed over to their pj's, the girls climbed up on the bed, in the same formation that they had been on the train, with Levy in the center, Lucy on the right, and Cana on the left.

"Hey guys?" Levy called out quietly.

"Yeah Lev?" Lucy replied, finally able to release some of her formality.

"What should we call this? This friendship. It's different, isn't it? I care about my other friends, but this just feels…"

"Special?" Cana supplied. Levy and Lucy both smiled.

"Yeah, I think Cana is right. This is more than friendship. I think… I think this is what it feels like to have sisters." Lucy revealed. She loved her friends dearly, and she wanted the absolute best for them, and she always wanted them to be in her life, and she was determined to make that happen.

"Sisters huh? I've never had one of those, much less two. But I like it. Sisters forever?" Cana grinned.

"Promise!" Lucy said excitedly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Levy joined. Cana then wrapped her arms around Levy's waist, with Lucy doing the same, and Levy wrapping each arm around her friends shoulders and pulling them in tight, all of them giggling and the happiest they had been for a very long time. They fell asleep just like that, snuggled in tight to each other, unwilling to let go.

 **Eidetic Memory- the ability of a given person to remember, with almost perfect clarity, anything that they have recently seen or heard. Also often referred to as _photographic memory_. **

**Alright. So I have seriously been considering something and I want your honest opinions. I was thinking of having Lucy and Flare meet a little earlier. I won't tell you exactly how, because that would spoil my fun, however, keep in mind that while I'm trying to work out some of the more intricate aspects of character relationships, I already have my story line planned out all the way up until the GMG. But because of this little dilemma in my mind, I can't comfortably move forward with my ideas. So, I'm gonna ask you guys!**

 **I'm really sorry that it's been so long since I've posted a chapter but I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of writing after everything that happened with my family. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. Stay tuned for some fun times!**


	4. Discovering Demons

Laxus POV

I took a good look at my surroundings. Being on an S-Class job sucks ass when you're by yourself, and gramps refuses to let me take my team on these jobs, so I always end up going alone. At the moment I was looking for some dark mage in the woods outside of a town called Marigold.

The requester was a tradesman whose routes had been disrupted by the mage attacking his caravans. According to the requester the mage could create storms and other disasters with devastating effects, "Pompous idiot, couldn't even tell me where to start searching. Only damn thing he told me was that he only attacks the men going along his trade routes."

Finally deciding that I needed a break, I climbed one of the trees that lined the route to wait for the next caravan and intervene if the asshole attacked them. Yawning, I stretched my legs out along the tree branch I was on and leaned against the trunk, putting my soundpods on and crossing my arms.

Boom! I woke with a start, the sound of an explosion overcoming the music in my soundpods. Jumping down from my perch quickly, I took off in a dead sprint for the plume of smoke rising just north of me.

As I was getting closer and closer, I could hear the screams of men and a few girls. The girl's screams sounded oddly familiar, but I didn't want to think about that.

"Hair Shower: Firefly Flame!" at that the sound of a bunch of smaller explosions sounded through the clearing I was just coming up on. Once I got to the edge, all I could see was a tipped over carriage that looked like half of it was blown to pieces. The ox that had been pulling it was still attached, but barely, and he was bucking, kicking and destroying anything that his hooves came into contact with.

Finally looking at the two mages facing off, I was surprised to see the dark mage that I had been sent to eliminate and a young girl around Cana or Lucy and Levy's age who had vibrant red hair and eyes.

"You cannot beat me, little girl. You are no match for me." The man looked like he had fur with light blonde hair, lean muscle making up most of his build, and his clothes were torn to shreds, probably from the explosions that I assume the girl had made.

"I don't care what you think! You hurt my friends! Hair Shower: Thousand Birds!" at that, her hair seemed to come alive and a bunch of little strands caught fire and darted towards the dark mage, as if they were fists meant to beat him to a pulp.

"Whoosh." I watched, almost in horror, as a giant cyclone overtook the girl who had been obviously giving her all, even with her nauseous reasoning. Why is everyone always so damn obsessed with friendship and nakama? I just don't get it.

"Flare!" I froze.

After the cyclone dissipated and the girl, whose name I could guess was Flare, dropped heavily to the ground, I could finally see the other occupants of the carriage and my blood ran cold at what I saw.

Lucy, Levy, and Cana were all huddled, two of the three's hands were bound behind their backs with magic cancelling rope. While Cana was trying to cut through Lucy's rope, Lucy wasn't exactly making things easier to do because she was struggling to run to the downed Flares side.

"LU! If you would just hold on for one damn moment, I could get the ropes cut! Not only that but those assholes took your keys! You only have that stupid whip of yours!"

"I don't care! Flare! Flare, please, get up!" I could finally see the tears lining Blondie's eyes, and they made me angry. Angry that someone would dare make such a pure heart hurt. That some asshole would dare put those tears there.

I activated Lightning Body just as Lucy was cut free and she sprinted towards Flare's incapacitated body and the dark mage raised his hand to send out another spell.

As soon as I touched back down in front of the downed girl, I built my magic back up and yelled, "Lightning Dragons Roar!"

I could see the surprise on the dark mages face when my lightning blasted right through his spell and hit him head on. I watched him drop, twitching, for a minute before standing up, "What's your name? I at least want to know the name of the dark mage I'm about to beat." I said with my signature cockiness.

"You idiot." I heard Blondie say from behind me. I wanted to look at her so badly but I didn't dare take my eyes off of my enemy. I knew as soon as I lost concentration, the asshole would have my hide.

"My name is Tempester, and I am no mage. I use disaster curses, and I am a demon of the books of Zeref."

I heard Blondie, Levy, and Cana all take a sharp breath, and I couldn't do more than clench my teeth to keep my jaw from dropping. We had all been told stories about the Dark Wizard Zeref growing up. He and his demons were like the boogeymen of Ishgar, their stories being told to keep kids in line, with endings like, 'and if you don't behave then the demons will come after you!'

"Just one for minute, Lev, I almost have them cut. And Laxus," I heard Cana say quietly enough that she knew I could hear her, but that anyone beyond myself wouldn't be able to, not knowing if their enemy had advanced hearing also, "I have a plan on how to beat this guy quick and easy. As soon as Levy is cut out of these, I tell her to run away and save herself, but she actually sneaks around behind Tempester and uses her magic to make a giant piece of iron or something and knocks him out while me, you, and Lu all keep him distracted and away from Flare. Got it?" I didn't answer, only moving slightly to cover Blondie and Flare a little better.

"Since when did you become such a strategist, Cana?" Levy teased with a quiet chuckle.

"What can I say? Hanging out with you two egg heads has rubbed off on me a bit." Cana teased back. Just as I could hear the twang of the last bit of rope being cut through, Tempester lunged at Blondie and I with his clawed hand outstretched.

"Hiya!" Blondie was up and her whip cracked loudly as it wrapped tightly around Tempesters wrist and she pulled back with everything she had. Recognizing the move, I sent my lightning into my foot before raising my leg high and driving my heel harshly into Tempesters left shoulder blade. As Tempester made contact with the ground, and my heel continued with its driving force, I could hear the crack and crunching of his shoulder dislocating and ribs breaking. Possibly even his collar bone with the way he landed.

Surprisingly enough, the guy got up rather quickly before putting distance between himself and us before sending another spell, "Boom."

Just as he said that I could feel the air around us change before a giant bolt of lightning blasted out of his left hand, headed towards Blondie and Flare. I quickly jumped in front of them and ate the lightning when it hit.

Watching the wide eyes of Tempester, I grinned, "Yummy meal, thanks for that. Didn't really need the power boost to beat you, but hey, power's power, amirite?"

"How did you do that? I have never seen anyone eat magic before." Tempester asked, while holding his limp left arm close to himself.

"That's a secret, we all have them. I'm sure you do."

"She's behind him, Laxus." Blondie said under her breath. Apparently she had somehow caught onto Cana's plan, or maybe she was just that smart, which I honestly wouldn't doubt. Kid was a super genius when it came to strategy and recalling the most randomly helpful shit.

"Cana, Blondie, you wanna help me take down our demon?"

"I doubt anyone could defeat your demons, Laxus, but this one? Easy fuckin peasy." Cana replied, a cocky lilt to her tone.

Blondie didn't even bother to reprimand the brunette before I sensed her deadly aura and flinched away from her. I had only ever experienced her wrath once and it is an experience I never want to have again, "That jerk hurt Flare. You bet your ass I'll help you take him for all he's worth."

Cana and I both shivered at her words, before turning forward and nodding with determination.

"Prayer's Fountain!" Cana yelled as she threw a single card down onto the ground with one of the larger streams hurtling towards Tempester. I sent out my lightning to combine with the water and do maximum damage.

"Lu, don't! You know better!" I turned just in time to see Blondie reach a single hand into the water while her magic swelled more than I had ever seen coming from her before.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

Third Person POV

Lucy had never before experienced a time when her magic welled up inside her like this, like a tsunami about to rip apart the land before her. She knew better than to reach into Cana's Prayer's Fountain water. But that didn't stop her. She somehow just knew she would be okay. And maybe it was a onetime thing, a fluke if you would, but she couldn't think about that at the moment. Her keys had been snatched away from her by those filthy crooks that had used a fake request to capture mages and sell them on the black market and she was pissed, "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

She felt a huge pull on her magic container and let her magic flow into it, feeding into that familiar door that opened the path to the Spirit World. Not a moment later, there was a bright flash of gold and the blue-tailed mermaid appeared, accompanied by her usual cranky attitude.

To Lucy's utter surprise, the mermaid didn't say anything, or even catch Lucy up with her in the attack, simply choosing to do something Lucy had never seen for herself, only hearing about it from her mother. Aquarius created a whip made entirely of water and cracked it at Tempester, wrapping it around his neck before pulling him into the air and slamming him down into the ground where he crumpled into a heap.

"Humph." Aquarius looked down at Lucy, her usual judgmental glare on her face, but Lucy could also see the pride in them, "You know what Brat?"

"Y-yes ma'am?" Lucy couldn't help but be nervous. Aquarius always swept her up into her attacks and to have her use an attack without doing so, and to use an attack that her mother had only ever seen? That was nerve wracking.

"Layla would be proud." Lucy's eyes widened into huge amber disks before she smiled as big as she could for her beloved spirit. She didn't even notice when Aquarius leaned down to Lucy's height and levelled her with a glare before butting her forehead up to Lucy's, "And if you ever lose my key again, so help me, I will wash you away into the next country, you hear me?"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Good." And with that Aquarius disappeared with one last smile and a shower of golden lights.

Everyone in the clearing was shocked and had awkward expressions on their faces as if they had overheard something that they really shouldn't, but were all quickly drawn out of Aquarius's left over shock when they heard a groaning at the other end of the small clearing.

Tempester was already up on his hands and knees, holding one hand to his neck where Aquarius had choked and slammed him, "It is obvious that I cannot beat you three on my own. So I shall die, and in my death I will leave Bane Particles, which will slowly and painfully kill you."

"What?! You can't just go and kill yourself!" Cana yelled.

Just as Tempester took a deep breath in as to prepare himself, Levy was behind him and wrote 'wood' into the air above his head, which fell and knocked him out.

"Whew. I almost didn't make it!" Levy said, swiping at imaginary sweat at her forehead before turning her attention toward Cana, "Cana! You know that you can't use Prayer's Fountain in a crowded area! That water is dangerous and I was in position but had to run away because I almost got caught up in it!"

Cana went to go pout beside Flare after her reprimanding while Lucy snickered a bit, "And you Lucy!" Lucy's eyes widened comically as her head whipped around to look at an angry Levy, "You know better than to put your hands in Prayer's Fountain! That was too dangerous and maybe if you had been thinking properly you would have gone and gotten your keys before running off halfcocked to sit by Flare's side and possibly cause even more trouble for Laxus!"

At her own reprimanding, Lucy joined Cana in pouting by Flare's side, gently fidgeting with some first aid that she had pulled out of nowhere.

Levy simply sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before walking up to the two girls, while completely ignoring a shocked Laxus who was just staring at the little bluenette slack jawed.

"But," Levy continued, sitting on Flares other side and facing her two pouting friends, "we made it out alive, and we saved Flare too. We defeated some bad guys who were selling mages for a profit using fake job requests. Come on, girls. We'll need to get moving now if we want to make it back to Silver's before sunset. You remember your promise, right Lucy?"

Looking up with a barely noticeable smile on her face, Lucy replied quietly, "Yes, I remember. I promised her that we would be back by nightfall. She would be worried sick if we didn't show up in time. But Lev, however shall we move Flare? She looks pretty banged up from when she was trying to protect us."

Laxus could tell the three girls were worried about their new friend, so he walked up and kneeled behind Lucy, placing a gentle hand on her head, and when she looked up at him, small tears pooled in her eyes, he knew that he would always be a sucker for the girl's tears, "I'll carry her to the town near here. Marigold I think. Is that okay with you?"

"That's the town we're staying in." Cana piped in, slightly rejuvenated by Levy's reassurances.

"Yes, Laxus. Thank you so much!" and before Laxus could stop her, Lucy was wrapping her arms around his slender neck. Shocked, he barely managed to pat her back a couple times before getting embarrassed by how much affection he was showing to the girl.

"Oi, Blondie, get off me would ya?"

Laughing, Lucy pulled away from the boy who was becoming more of a brother or maybe just a mentor to her every day.

"Hey, before we get too carried away, someone get some magic cancelling cuffs on that asshole." Laxus said.

"Magic cancelling cuffs won't work on him, or were you not paying attention, Laxus?" Levy called out from the wreckage across the clearing.

"Uuuugh..." Laxus could always find a way to feel stupid when these girls were around him, which was almost always.

"Yes, I did hear Tempester say that he didn't use magic, but that he used curses instead. So therefore it can be assumed that _magic_ cancelling cuffs wouldn't work on him." Lucy put in, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Fine! Then does anyone have a good idea on how to keep him knocked out until we can get him to Marigold?"

"I have tranquilizer darts." Cana piped up with an evil grin spread across her face and her hands rubbing together.

Laxus was exasperated with them at this point. The three girls he was in the process of training were so widely different from one another, yet somehow all fit together. He honestly couldn't explain it, and wouldn't even try.

"Cana, what have we told you about the tranq darts? You can't just offer those up every chance you get. How about we use your Sleep Card instead. That has almost unlimited use and it isn't harmful to his body." Levy chided

Cana huffed out a breath for dramatic effect, "Fine~. I can use my sleep card on him so we don't have to kill the guy." She stood up and walked over and pulled a strange looking card with a sleeping ram on it, put it against Tempester's forehead, and activated it with one word: "Sleep."

Once she was done Lucy retrieved her keys from Levy, who had brought them to her after digging in the wreckage and called out Taurus to help with carrying Tempester to the town of Marigold.

As they walked, Laxus finally decided that he had waited long enough, "So how the hell did you girls get involved with this situation in the first place?"

"Oh, well, uhhh, you see, Laxus, heh heh..." Cana said nervously.

"Yeah, it's a funny story, really..." Levy added.

"P-pardon me for n-not being able to tell the tale, but, uh, but... Imustkeepmymindonmymagicsorry!" Lucy hated telling lies, so she went with the closest truth that she could, rushing it out in one breath.

Laxus decided to go for the weaker of the three when it came to keeping secrets. Granted, Levy could keep a secret to her grave if she needed to, but something like this, not so much.

"Well, Levy, if it's such a funny story, I sure would like to hear it then. You girls know how much I love to laugh."

"Fine! I'll tell you! But only once we get back to the Inn! We need to hurry up and get there before Silver gets too worried about us!"

"Yeah!" Lucy and Cana chimed I'm at the same time before Lucy added, "And I want Flare to be safe. With us. Guys, I want to ask her to come to Fairytail with us when we go back home." Lucy looked down with a sheepish blush dusted across her cheeks.

"Of course, Lu!" Cana and Levy said at the same time, this time, before Cana continued, "If she wants to go back with us, then I say let's bring her! She would fit in perfectly!"

"Yeah, I gotta agree, Lu. She also seemed to take quite the liking to you." Levy said, waggling her eyebrows at the poor blonde.

"Shut up." Lucy mumbled, her blush darkening.

"You guys are weird." Laxus concluded.

"We are not weird!" The there yelled back at him.

"Tch. Whatever. Look, we're at the edge of town. I'll take this asshole to the Rune Knights to take care of and get the reward for the job, which I'm splitting with you guys, no ifs ands or buts about it, and then I'll meet you at that Inn you were talking about. What's it called again?"

"Silver's Bar and Inn!" Cana chirped happily

"Of course it is. Whatever. I'll meet you four there in an hour. Blondie, have your cow trade with me and I'll take Tempester and he'll take Flare."

Suddenly Laxus was getting hit over the head with a long stick, "HES NOT A COW!"

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!" Laxus yelled right back as he was rubbing his head, "tch. Fine. He's a bull, not a cow. _I'm so sorry_." He said, forcing the last three words out around clenched teeth.

Lucy looked over to Taurus, who was still holding Tempester, with an expectant look in her eyes.

"All is forgiven Miss Luuucy!" Was all he said before trading with Laxus and going to stand behind his summoner once more.

"Thank you again, Laxus." Lucy said with a smile and a wave as she and her companions walked in the opposite direction towards Silver's Bar and Inn.

 **I am so sorry for not updating in so long!!! I promise you guys that I'm not abandoning anything it's just that my creativity has taken a hit lately because of all my issues! But worry not! I'm coming back and better than ever! So. I've officially introduced Flare to the little group and boy, oh boy! Do I have some plans! So I know this chapter may have been a bit sudden or confusing, but that's what the next chapter is going to explain! So. I don't know if you guys noticed the hint, but there might be a little f/f going on, and depending on whether I decide to keep it one sided like the manga, or maybe a little reciprocal is completely up to you guys! So leave reviews or pm me your ideas or suggestions, I always love me some active readers! Alright, now that that is done I'll let you know that I have a few other stories in the making right now so just be looking out for them! But I _must_ warn you: they will not be LaLu. So if your not into other ships, then you don't have to read them, but if you keep an open mind, I promise you won't get disappointed! Well that's all for now! See you guys later!**


	5. AN PLEASE READ

Alright. So this isn't an actual chapter and I am so so sorry that this isn't an actual update, but this will explain a lot, I promise.

So these past months have been really turbulent and I know I've promised updates. You'll get them by the end of this month.

 _However_

The reason for the turbulence has been the fact that my parents are going through a messy divorce, with me trying to keep my little brother as sane as possible with him being caught in the middle. I've also been trying to deal with my medical discharge from the military and get into college to further my skills. It probably doesn't help that my laptop crashed unexpectedly.

So, I am sorry once again for the lack of updates and for this not being a chapter.

Thank you all again for your patience and I promise that the updates will come soon. Please just continue to have patience with me!

Have a wonderful day, and stay happy my friends!


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